The Third Richard
by GraceBe
Summary: Set after the finale of series 6. An old friend from Manchester makes Isobel a tempting offer...
1. Chapter 1

**This is just a little something. Thanks to Gemenied for the editing!**

 **The third Richard**

"Isobel Crawley! There you are!" The called woman stopped in her tracks and turned around in surprise. She had been married for a little longer than three months and it still was odd that people called her "Lady Merton", yet being called by her former name seemed just as odd.

The next odd thing was the man who was slowly approaching her. At first she didn't believe her eyes, but with every step he came closer her disbelief melted and turned into utter amazement.

The man's as handsome as always, she thought. He had aged well and all those silvery strands in his dark hair and the fine lines around his friendly eyes had only added to his looks.

"Richard Carver," she smiled brightly at him, once he had reached her. "Golly! I certainly didn't expect to see you around here!"

He laughed loudly, "And I never expected to look for you in a hospital that's as far away from the civilized world as this place!"

"What are you doing here?"

"As I said, I'm looking for you!"

"You came all the way from Manchester to find me?" she couldn't believe it, though she knew he was the kind of man who would just do such a thing.

"Let's say, I took my chances," he said and looked admiringly at her. "How are you? You look marvellous as always."

"I'm fine," she said. "Just fine."

"How long has it been?" he mused. "Twelve years?"

"Almost fourteen," she answered after a short moment. "It's actually longer than I thought. Time flies!"

Suddenly his facial expression turned sad. "I was sorry to hear about Matthew," he said. "He was too young."

Isobel swallowed and said quietly, "He was indeed."

"I wanted to write, but I didn't know how to find the right words," Carver said. "But I never stopped thinking about you."

Isobel felt how she blushed and lowered her eye lashes. "It's all right."

"Isobel, there you are!"

Her head jerked around and she saw Dickie and Doctor Clarkson strolling along the hallway. The two of them were the last thing she needed right now, but she put on a brave face and smiled.

"We were looking for you," Doctor Clarkson informed her a bit curtly. "Did you forget about us?"

"It was my fault," Carver explained. "I'm an old friend of Mrs Crawley's."

For a moment Isobel didn't know what to explain first – who her visitor was or that she wasn't Mrs Crawley, but when she felt Dickie's questioning gaze upon her, she stepped next to him and took his arm.

"Doctor Richard Carver, may I introduce you to my husband, Lord Merton, and to Doctor Clarkson? He's the head physician."

If Carver was surprised, he hid it well. He nodded at Dickie and Clarkson. "I had no idea you got remarried," he said when he turned towards Isobel again. "What a surprise!"

"It's only been four months," she informed him and avoided Carver's piercing eyes.

"What brings you here?" Clarkson asked curiously.

"I was on my way to York and thought I could call on her. Many moons ago I've worked alongside the late Doctor Crawley in Manchester."

"How interesting!" Dickie said joyfully. "Why don't you join us for dinner tonight? I'm sure the two of you have a lot to catch up on!"

Isobel's jaw dropped. "But Dickie, we don't know if..." But Carver was quicker. "I'd love to," he said. "Thank you."

"We live in Crawley House. It's right down the street, across the church!" Dickie informed him. "How about eight o'clock?"

"I'll be there!" Carver nodded. "And now excuse me, please, but I have to run some errands."

"Of course."

Carver bid the small group goodbye and left. Isobel followed him with her eyes, wondering if she really wanted him to have dinner at her house….

Just as Carver had reached the entrance, Violet Crawley, every inch the Dowager Countess entered the hospital. She noticed the alien figure with curious interest, but, of course, passed him without a word.

"Do we know him?" she asked Isobel once she had reached the small assembly.

"That was Doctor Richard Carver from Manchester," Doctor Clarkson explained with a hint of subtle sourness in his voice. "Apparently he's an old friend of Lady Merton's."

Violet looked from Isobel to Merton and from Merton to Clarkson and back to Isobel. "Another Richard? Haven't you lost count yet?"

* * *

While getting dressed Isobel watched the clock on the mantelpiece of her bedroom from the corner of her eye. It was seven now. One hour left before Richard Carver would arrive and she was already getting very nervous. She had no idea why Dickie had invited him in the first place. She had this subtle, yet lingering feeling he had spotted from the moment he had seen her and Doctor Carver together that they had once been more than friends. Did it disturb him? She honestly couldn't tell.

She had never pictured Dickie as someone who was overly jealous. In fact, he was always friendly to everyone – even to Doctor Clarkson, who had at times been openly hostile towards Dickie in the past.

Right now she didn't quite know what to make of the whole situation, and, as always when she felt out of her element, she was flustered. Her hands were shaking and didn't allow her fingers to open the lock of her thin silver necklace. She sighed and drew a deep breath. Perhaps she should just pick another piece of jewellery instead of trying to calm down.

The bedroom opened and Dickie came in, looking dashingly handsome as always in a dinner jacket.

"Are you ready?" he asked her reflection.

"Almost," she answered. "I think the lock of my necklace is broken..."

"Let me try," he offered. He stepped behind her to close the necklace and she prayed he wouldn't notice her trembling hands.

"There you are," he said once he was done. He squeezed her tense shoulders and kissed her temple. "You look beautiful tonight. Is that a new dress?"

Isobel looked down herself and shook her head. It was a dark blue dress, made of velvet. "No, I just don't wear it often, because it's a bit heavy. Do you like it?"

"It suits you very well, but I'm biased. In my eyes you're always the most beautiful woman in the room."

Isobel felt how the blood rose in her cheeks. "Flatterer!"

"I mean it," he said and she turned around to come face to face with him.

"Then kiss me," she ordered gently.

With a tender smile he closed his arms around her. "Your wish is my command," he said and did as he was told.

Dinner was a smooth and easier affair than in spite of Isobel's worries. Dickie was the perfect host who enjoyed the stories Carver had to tell about his former work in Manchester and the plans for his future position in the Royal Yorkshire Hospital as deputy of the current head physician.

"I've heard there was some real upheaval about the merger with the Hospital here in Downton," Carver said. "It caused a lot of bewilderment and amusement."

Isobel and Dickie exchanged a knowing look. "Let's say, the opinions about its value differed," Dickie said vaguely.

"That's a more diplomatic version than the one that has reached my ears," Carver laughed. "I guess the outcome is what matters."

"Indeed," Isobel agreed. "The merger was a real success!"

The maid announced herself with a knock at the door and came in. "Excuse me, Mylord," she said to Dickie. "But there's a telephone call for you. It's Mr Grey."

Dickie groaned and apologized. "Excuse me, please. That's my son. I'll be right back."

"Let's move into the drawing room," Isobel said to Carver and nodded at her maid. "We'll have our coffee in there."

"Yes, Mylady."

Isobel led Carver into the drawing room where they were welcomed by the pleasant warmth of a fire.

"Mylady…" Carver showed his amusement about her new title, once the door was closed. "I think I'll have to get used to that!"

"Let's say it was a worthy sacrifice," she said.

Carver smiled, "You really love him, don't you? I've never seen you this happy in the last 25 years... not since Reginald died."

"Yes, I do love him."

"No regrets?"

She only hesitated for a second, before she answered his question, "It took me too long to admit to it, but, no, I don't have any regrets."

He sighed. "I wished I had known that before. I don't know why I assumed you would sit around in this backwater town and wait for someone to rescue you. I guess it can be called hubris on my part."

"I see... so your visit is more than a social call? Who would have thought!?" She had known it from the moment she had met him in the hospital hallway. Richard Carver did nothing without a further motive.

He laughed, "You really haven't changed. As a matter of fact, it is both," he admitted. "I came here to offer you a position at the Royal Yorkshire Hospital. I plan to reorganize the training of the nurses and I want someone to supervise it. Someone I can trust, someone who knows how I like things to be done."

"And you want to ask me?" Isobel was stunned. "We haven't worked together in more than 15 years."

"Yes, I know, but I really need someone in this position I can trust... and I thought..." He broke off. "It doesn't really matter anymore. I came too late... Four months late."

He fell silent as the maid came in to serve the coffee. It gave Isobel time to think about how to deal with this confession.

"I'm flattered you thought of me," she said, when they were alone again.

"And you are married," he said, as she handed him a cup.

"That too," she concurred.

Carver sighed, "Even if it was a possibility... I doubt I could handle seeing you every day knowing you go home to someone else at night. You see... sometimes it doesn't really matter how much time has passed. I can't seem to get over certain things."

"I'm sorry."

Carver shook his head, "There's nothing to be sorry for," he said. "It's called life and it goes on."

Isobel opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat. Again she was saved by the opening door. Dickie came in and apologized, "This took longer than I thought."

"Never mind," Carver said. "We were just talking about old times."

"And so you should!" Dickie said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Isobel noticed when she gave him his coffee and suddenly she didn't have to ask herself, whether Dickie was jealous. She knew he was.

 **~~tbc~~**

 ***Reviews are always appreciated***


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so very much for your lovely reviews and messages! They really made my day :-) Enjoy the second and last part!**

 **Part 2**

Isobel took off her robe, climbed into bed, and turned to Dickie who was way too occupied with his book for her taste. He hadn't said a word ever since Carver had left the house over an hour ago. His silence of her drove her mad. For a few moments she just looked at him, hoping he would acknowledge her silent wish to talk, but when he didn't, her patience ran out. With a swift grasp she grabbed the book and put it on her night stand.

"But what..." Dickie looked puzzled at her. "What have I done now?"

"You know that very well! Why did you invite Richard for dinner?"

"Because he's an old friend who came from Manchester to see you," he explained unmoved. "It would have been unkind not to invite him."

Defeated by his English attitude about hospitality she sank into her pillow. "Oh bother! I guess I can be grateful you didn't ask him to stay here!"

"Why are you so angry?", he asked curiously. "I wanted to get to know him a little better – and I'm sure you enjoyed the opportunity to talk about... old times."

"Still, you could have asked me first!" She stared angrily at the ceiling.

"I thought it was a nice evening. He's a nice chap, your Doctor Carver."

"He isn't my Doctor Carver," Isobel clarified sourly.

Silence fell between them, causing an awkward tension. "Why can't you just ask?!" she finally exclaimed.

He took his time to think about a suitable answer, "Because I'm not sure what to ask."

She sighed. "A man of your eloquence doesn't find the words to ask his wife a personal question? I can barely believe that!"

"I'm not sure I'm eloquent enough not to compromise you with my question..."

"Then you better try to be, because I won't tell you, unless you ask."

Now he was the one who was sighing, but before he could complain, she cut him off and said, "Don't… you invited him and you had a reason for it! And don't you hide behind your manners!"

"I'm not hiding behind anything."

Her frustration was growing steadily. "Men! You're all the same! You want to know everything about your wives... and in the end you don't know want to know!"

"Actually you're the one implying I want to know…," he mused. "What if I'm content with my own impression?"

Curious by this remark she lifted her head, "Which is?"

Dickie shrugged, "It's quite simple actually. He's in love with you, but you are not in love with him. Yet it's quite obvious, you're quite fond of him - even attracted to him. He knows you well enough to think he could lure you into the hospital in York with a challenging job offer, but instantly forgot about it, once he knew we were married, which makes him a lot more decent than I want him to be." He made a pause, then added, "Am I wrong?"

"No," she admitted sheepishly. "How do you know about the job?"

"I've placed a few telephone calls this afternoon. Carver had mentioned your name for the position."

Isobel was stunned, "I have to say I am amazed. I never thought of you as someone who could read other people so easily. After all, it took you months to realize that Amelia was fooling you!"

"Let's say men of my generation were raised to think of women as the weaker sex. I guess I wanted Amelia to be the nice, genuine woman who could turn Larry into a better man. Doctor Carver on the other hand...," he broke off again and shrugged.

"Yes?"

"It was in his eyes," he explained quietly.

"What was in his eyes?"

"That he made love to you. It was in the way he looked at you this afternoon and all evening. He remembered every second of it. I have to admit, it made me quite uncomfortable at times!"

Isobel scoffed and held her breath. "Don't exaggerate!" She felt, how she blushed, and turned her face away.

"So, it's true," he concluded. "You were lovers."

She groaned. "It's not what you think... It was..." Annoyed with herself she tried to get out of bed. She pushed her blanket aside, but he just grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "I'm sorry," he said. "I made this rather hard for you, but I needed to know what you felt for him and I feared you wouldn't tell me the whole truth about you and him."

"Why would I lie to you if you asked me?" she asked, as she sank back into the pillows.

"I don't know... to spare me? Because that's what you always do. You still haven't quite internalised that I won't drop dead any time soon..."

"That's not true!" she said, but she saw his point. Perhaps she had wanted to keep Carver away from their home, because she feared Dickie could be misled about her past with Carver.

"I never loved him," she said quietly. "I was lonely after Matthew went off to boarding school and so was Richard. I had no idea how deep his feelings were, until he proposed to me. I broke it off as gently as I could, but, of course, things had changed between us."

"The question is, what will you do about his latest proposal?" Dickie asked.

"He didn't ask me," she explained. "He knows it's not a good idea, because he's not a masochist."

Dickie grinned humourlessly. "Unlike other people," he mused.

"What do you mean?"

"Lady Grantham's comment about Richard number three. If I'm unhappy with Doctor Carver's presence in the village, Doctor Clarkson hates it."

Isobel rolled her eyes. Cousin Violet and her comments could really annoy her at times. The last thing she to discuss with Dickie in their bedroom was Doctor Clarkson. "I'm fairly certain he overcame his feelings for me a long time ago."

"If that's what you think... His ego is still bruised, especially now that he saw with his own eyes that there once was a physician called Richard who could indeed sweep you off your feet..." Was he pulling her leg now? She gave him a suspicious glare. Whenever he tried to fool her, the twitching of his lips gave him away.

"Are you finished talking ?" she asked annoyed.

"Why?"

"Because I want you to make love to me." She sat up and moved against him and busied herself with his pyjama buttons. "After all, you were the one who said, you wouldn't drop dead soon."

"True." He lifted her chin and kissed her tenderly. "I guess you think that statement demands proof."

Isobel chuckled and sneaked her arms around his neck. "By all means," she whispered against his lips. "By all means."

* * *

Later, as Isobel lay in Dickie's arms, satisfied and exhausted from their lovemaking, she had her eyes closed and wondered when she had felt this fulfilled before. Perhaps in the first few years of her first marriage when everything in life had been easy and adventurous.

"I wouldn't have done it anyway," Isobel mumbled sleepily.

"What do you mean?"

"Gone to work in York," she answered. "I'm happy with you and with my position as almoner. There's nothing about my life I want to change. I'm happy as I am."

"Really?"

She lifted her head, because he had sounded a little doubtful. "Really," she repeated. "To use Cousin Violet's little allegory again... the third Richard in my life happens to be the most important one and the only one I happen to be in love with." She kissed him longingly. "Never forget that," she added when they parted again. "Promise me, you won't forget it."

"I promise, I won't forget it."

Content she snuggled up against him and closed her eyes. His arms wrapped tightly around her and soon both fell into a long and peaceful sleep.

 **The End**


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